After the Christmas Day festivities the last thing you want to be doing in the morning is making a fry up.

Eating it however is another matter.

There's nothing like a full-English to get you back on track when you've over-indulged. But you've probably over endulged the bank account too so eating out somewhere posh could be out the question.

So there's only one option if you don't want to get out the credit card or the frying pan out but you do want a banger, rashers of bacon, hash browns, grilled mushrooms and beans. Your local supermarket.

More and more of us are enjoying the sneaky fry ups served in supermarket cafes and with the January sales starting this week, there's every excuse.

Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's all serve them daily.

And, if you want something a little more upmarket, you've got M&S and Waitrose.

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Morrisons

Food

There's a surprising amount of choice when it comes to breakfast in Morrisons. Eggs benedict (£3.90), scrambled egg with pine nuts and spinach (£3.50) and even soy milk porridge with blueberry and lemon curd (£2).

But no-one walks into a Morrison's cafe looking for porridge and lemon curd - we're here for the fry up. £4.70 will buy you the Big Breakfast: a heaving plate of fried goodness which threatens to overpower even the hungriest diner.

Served until 3pm, the breakfast includes two sausages, two rashers of bacon, two hash browns, Heinz beans, a smattering of mushrooms, and half a tomato. A barely-cooked egg, which looks like it was dropped from a great height, conceals a slice of fried bread. This triangular grease-catcher - while undoubtedly packed with my yearly intake of calories - is by far the tastiest thing on the plate.

It's self service drinks here, so grab a mug and select your desired beverage from the machine. Top tip: don't waste too much time choosing - they'll all end up with roughly the same flavour profile: lukewarm and a bit stale.

Order an orange juice with the big breakfast and get a couple of slices of toast for £1.50.

Service and atmosphere

The one member of staff was splitting her time between taking orders on the till and clearing tables, so there were queues despite it being almost empty.

Having said that, the fry up was at my table within minutes of ordering.

It's recently had a refurb and they've splashed colour around with mis-matched chairs, polka-dot teapots, and trendy light fixtures.

Because of this, it's not quite as depressing as I had anticipated. Think trendy tea shop meets Wetherspoons.

Value for money

All together my breakfast cost £7.95 - but I did go for the biggest breakfast on the menu. A little breakfast for £3.90 would have been plenty, and much more affordable.

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Asda

On first glance, Asda is what can only be described as basic in the breakfast stakes. Bacon barm or sausage barm. That's your lot.

I ask if they do a cooked breakfast.

'Well, we have beans, but we don't advertise them.'

Secret beans!

Feeling like I've discovered some Black Asda menu, I want the off menu beans just because.

I get offered the insiders' breakfast of two sausage, one bacon, beans and a toast.

I want brown toast, not white. I have made myself the outsider. Things are compounded when I order a latte.

The food is served instantly and is unrelentingly, irredeemably grim. The bacon is twangy and salty and bad.

Drinks

They advertise it as 'Seattle's best coffee.' Alas, it is not even the best coffee in Asda. Tastes like frothy creamy urine. Apologise to Seattle immediately Asda.

Service and atmosphere

Pleasant, workmanlike, solid. This Asda cafe runs on routine and a curveball like me is a test rather than a pleasure.

It's like weird staff room where everyone's been out the night before. Most people seem hungover, including one of the staff members, who asks for 'double strength coffee' before starting her shift. Everyone else is wearing hi-vis.

The Asda cafe is not for the average man. It's for people who go in there every day, who the staff know. Like Alan ('bacon barm, buttered')

Value for money

I've paid £6.55 and I'm not really sure what for.

Additional observations

No hash browns, no supermarket breakfast. No eggs? This cafe lacks committment. Kids eat free though, so at least their disappointment won't cost you anything.

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Marks and Spencer

There is a breakfast menu, but it’s mostly of the warmed up porky bap variety - they also do toast (£2) and toasted teacake (£1.50) and smoked salmon bagels (£4.50).

I choose a sausage breakfast bun (£3.75) from the chiller cabinet, thinking it might have eggs on it, but no, it’s just sausage.

Although it’s a pretty impressive portion of rich Cumberland sausages - more than covering the large, squidgy bun. It comes with a choice of red and brown sauce on the side. I mix it up and have both.

Drinks

There are all the usual coffee shop varieties, as well as some festive additions, but I stick with a flat white. I get a free Christmas tree shortbread with it which is nice.

Service and atmosphere

Considering the length of the queue, service might best be described as “harrassed”. It seems to take an age to actually get to the counter (it was actually ten minutes) where I pass over my sausage bun to be heated and ask if they have any eggs but the server snaps: “No, do you want a drink?” I decide not to engage in any further menu conversation with her.

The atmosphere is what you’d probably expect of a busy Marks and Spencer cafe - screaming babies, prams in the walkways and grimacing elders. And that was just at my table. The decor is clean and bright with colourful leather seating around the edges.

Value for Money

I spent £6.35 on my sausage bap and coffee which sounds quite a lot really for what I initially thought of as a snack, but I suppose it was my entire recommended portion of pork product for the month.

Additional observations

While I was testing breakfast, my two-year-old son enjoyed a cinnamon bun (as did I when I ate his leftovers) which was really fresh and moist (£1.75).

Rating : 3/5

Dianne Bourne

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Waitrose

Food

There’s some proper posh stuff for breakfast on the menu at Waitrose - avocado with bacon on sourdough toast for £3.95, a potato omelette with feta cheese for £3.95 or perhaps a bircher muesli at £2.50. But I’m here for the fry-up - and I want it large as soon as I see it includes a hash brown (£7.75).

I don’t know what they fried it all in, but it weirdly tasted quite light and healthy (in my dreams) and the egg, while not quite runny enough for my liking, had a lovely fragrant edge in the crispness from the frier.

Even the baked beans, which I don’t usually like touching the other elements of my fry up, tasted good with the plump button mushrooms and golden crispy hash brown.

It came with two slices of white, buttered toast that tasted so divine I had to go and ask which bread they used. It turns out it was Jackson’s Yorkshire bloomer, which I swiftly went and bought a big loaf of in the main shop.

Drinks

Anyone with a Waitrose loyalty card (which are free) will know the big bonus of shopping here is you get a free tea or coffee with every daily purchase (choose from Americano, latte or cappuccino). I opt for a cappuccino and it is served with Christmas-tree shaped chocolate sprinkled on top. If you haven't got a loyalty card, tea costs £1.90, Americano £2 and cappuccino and latte £2.50.

Service and atmosphere

The staff here were super-friendly and helpful. They bring the hot cooked breakfast over and the smiley waitress says in a most heartfelt way: “I really hope you enjoy your breakfast!” Service with a smile!

It’s big and airy, but a bit like an airport lounge. I’m also sat very close to the tills so the constant beeping of the till becomes a tad annoying. However there’s a nice cosy corner with settees too.

Value for Money

At £7.75 for the large breakfast that’s quite pricey - but I did get the coffee free because I’ve got a Waitrose loyalty card. And it was thoroughly delicious so I wouldn’t hesitate in paying it again. There’s also a small breakfast (without hash brown, beans or mushrooms) for £5.75.

Additional observations

There were free daily newspapers to read while you eat. Bonus.

Rating: 4/5

Dianne Bourne

Sainsbury's

Food

There’s a wide choice on the breakfast menu, with omelettes, breakfast baguettes, bagels, porridge, teacakes, you name it. But it seemed me and the rest of the queue were there for one thing only - the Big Breakfast.

For a very reasonable £4.50 this comes with a fried egg, two sausages (I think we can all agree one is never enough), two rashers of bacon, a hash brown, a fresh tomato, baked beans and a slice of toast.

They don't mind swapping items either. When the customer in front said he wanted it without the egg, he was offered mushrooms or another hash brown instead. And when I asked if I could ditch the tomato in favour of a second hash brown, because I'm healthy like that, they duly obliged.

I waited just over 15 minutes for it to arrive, but when it came it was worth the wait.

My only complaints were the egg was a bit overcooked for my liking (who doesn't love a runny egg to dip their toast in?) and the sausages were slightly charred on the ends (who does love a charred sausage?).

It might be a big stodgy breakfast but nothing felt greasy about this belly buster.

Drinks

Unlike at some other supermarkets the drinks are sold separately. As a tea lover it was my obvious choice and you can choose between a pot, or a mug (£1.20).

For me there's nothing worse than a tiny teacup of tea to wash down your full English, so I was elated with my giant mug - and its ability to keep my drink warm until the food arrived.

The staff were very helpful. There was one woman on the till and another sorting the drinks. They could have done with two tills really as the queue was 12 people deep at one point, but the staff were pleasant and working as fast as they could.

The poor lady on the till was clearly fulfilling her duty of offering mince pies at 30p a pop - 'the manager's idea' - but there weren't many takers for a mince pie pudding after breakfast.

My breakfast arrived without sauce, but within a minute a member of staff was bringing me a tub of sauces to choose from. Probably easier on their part to leave them out for people to grab, but it added a little personal touch all the same - and she returned to see if I wanted any extra sauce. Better service than in some restaurants!

It was big and inviting with lots of tables to choose from. I chose a nice corner which was perfect apart from being a bit too close to the huge trolley of dirty trays - I guess they have to go somewhere though and there were lots of other places I could have picked.

Value for Money

At £4.50 you couldn't complain, given the portions and their willingness to swap items if needed. And if you're with the kids the Junior Breakfast is a reasonable £2.50.

Extra items can be added too - ranging from 50p for toast to 80p for sausage, bacon, or black pudding.

Additional observations

Everything on the menu has its calorie count next to it, if you're into that sort of thing. My big breakfast had 776 calories, which seems a lot but it filled me up for most of the day so I wouldn't say that's particularly bad.

Rating: 4/5

Emma Gill

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Tesco

Food

The menu here includes all the usual suspects - a classic cooked breakfast, veggie version and an eight-item fry up of your choice (all £4.99); scrambled eggs on toast (£2.79); and a sausage or bacon roll (£1.99) - plus omelettes (£2.99), toast (99p), pancakes with blueberries, banana and maple syrup (£2.49), and porridge with mixed berries or banana and maple syrup (£1.79).

But let's face it: if you're going to a supermarket caff for porridge, you're doing life wrong. So a full English it is.

This one comes with one sausage, two rashers of bacon, a fried egg, hash brown, beans, tomato and a side of toast (brown or white) or fried bread.

Extra items can be bought for 65p each so I push the boat out with another banger. Error. Wrinkled, plasticky and weirdly sweet, they're up there with the plonked-from-a-can plum tomato as the worst thing on the plate.

The bacon (unsmoked) is better but could be crispier for my liking. There's a good amount of beans though, the egg is perfectly runny and the hash brown - up in the god tier of breakfast items - is golden and crisp.

A mixed bag, but it fills a hole.

Drinks

There's a coffee shop-style counter by the till where you can choose between a latte, cappuccino, flat white, Americano, mocha, tea or hot chocolate (from £1.39 to £2.85). There's a few festive options too - a gingerbread latte, mint hot chocolate or crème brûlée cappuccino.

Hot and caffeinated is all I'm looking for in a supermarket coffee really and a black Americano is serviceable in those respects.

Service

Staff are friendly and welcoming, with assembly-line efficiency. My breakfast is brought to my table within seconds of sitting down.

Strangely serene. Hidden away like a guilty secret at the back of the gigantic Tesco Extra, the mezzanine cafe is well away from the hordes of Christmas shoppers below. And boasts a dazzling view over the electricals department and toiletries aisle.

The space is basic, but functional and clean, with seating on red pleather chairs and sofas. Someone has thrown a bit of tinsel and a handful of baubles on a house plant next to a pile of gift-wrapped boxes. Festive.

Value for money

Portions are fairly generous for the price, and quality-wise - well, you get what you pay for at £4.99.